Come celebrate the return of the unguided season at Silverton Mountain with us! We'll shred some great spring snow by day and boogie down by night with the ska stylings of The Casual Fridays! There will also be drink specials and a raffle for some great prizes, including a Venture snowboard! The party gets rocking at 7 pm on Saturday, April 4th at Silverton's Grand Imperial Hotel. $4 cover, 21+ only. Raffle proceeds benefit the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

It's hard to believe, but this year will be our 10th Annual Season Kickoff Party celebrating the opening of unguided season at Silverton Mountain - a decade of handcrafted collaboration in the mighty San Juans! Our friends at Ska Brewing have been cooking up a special brew for the occasion - Dementia (Bourbon Barrel Aged Euphoria) - and it's going to be delicious. Don't miss it! We'll have live music from the Lawn Chair Kings and The Crags, Ska drink specials, and a raffle for tons of awesome loot including prizes from Ice Pirates, Purl Wax, Purgatory, Silverton Powder Cats, Silverton Mountain, Ska Brewing, Smith Optics, Spark R&D, Trew Gear, and last but not least, a limited edition Venture board with the Dementia graphic (below). Raffle proceeds benefit the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies.

We want you to show us your Venture in the #MyVenture photo contest! Anything goes - riding, lifestyle, scenic, etc. Just be sure it includes a Venture deck. Tag your photo with #MyVenture on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and then share with your friends and family. The photo with the most Facebook likes wins! The Grand Prize winner gets a free spot at the Silverton Sessions - a high altitude shred gathering here in Silverton, Colorado. Second Place is a brand spanking new Venture snowboard, and 3 Runners Up will receive Venture swag. Contest runs through 12/5, so enter today!

Ever dreamed of riding Silverton Mountain with locals who are in the know? Now is your chance. Join the Venture Snowboards crew for a high altitude gathering in Silverton, Colorado!

Shred Silverton Mountain with us, tour the Venture factory while drinking Ska Brewing's Euphoria Pale Ale from our kegerator, and experience winter San Juan style. Package includes 2 days of guided riding at Silverton Mountain, 3 nights' lodging, beer, meals, beer, free demos, more beer, and a raffle for some great prizes. Did we mention beer?

So rally your crew, gather your riding gear, and muster your courage. Then come prepared for an amazing adventure! Registration deadline is 12/1/14 and space is limited. Click here for more information or to register.

Our all mountain Zelix keeps taking top honors. In addition to an Editors' Choice from Backcountry Magazine, it has now received a Good Wood Award from TransWorld Snowboarding and an Outside Magazine Gear of the Year Award. That makes a total of three - count 'em, THREE - awards for the Zelix this season! You can be sure this news is raising the stoke level to new heights here at Venture.

TransWorld testers commented that the Zelix is "surfy and holds a great edge." Backcountry riders called it "an all-mountain slayer" that "felt stable in all terrain types." And Outside noted that it "float[s] almost effortlessly in soft snow." What's clear here is that the Zelix kills it in a range of different snow conditions and terrain, so if you're looking for a single deck that can handle anything the mountain throws at you, this may just be the board for you.Get the full scoop on on this all mountain quiver killer here.

We're stoked to announce that Venture's Zelix splitboard is a Backcountry Magazine 2015 Editors' Choice winner - that's two years running! Backcountry's testers called the Zelix "an all mountain slayer" and commented that the board was "solid but not a brick...[and] felt stable in all conditions." For the 14/15 winter season the Zelix is available as a regular snowboard and a splitboard. Detailed specs and more information are available here, or you can check out Backcountry's review.

If you’ve been to the Venture showroom, chances are you’ve been greeted by the bark of Venture’s mascot Juno. Here she is in her modeling debut in M. John Fayhee's new book Colorado Mountain Dogs. Hope she remembers us little guys when she hits the big time.

Venture's new Shape Shack board, the Snowy Owl, was released last week. Like every Shape Shack project, this limited edition splitboard is the fruit of a collaboration between a guest shaper and a guest artist. For the board shape, Venture worked with resident shaper Johan Olofsson. For the Snowy Owl graphic, Venture commissioned original work from Washington State artist Shanna Duncan, who has created graphics for such notables as The Levitation Project, Queensryche and Fender Guitars. We caught up with Shanna to get an inside look at her inspiration, creative process, and involvement with this project.

Venture Snowboards: Your marching orders were to create a graphic with an owl (per Johan Olofsson's request), but did you have other inspiration at work in creating the graphics for this snowboard?

Shanna Duncan: Being a Pacific Northwest native, I get a lot of inspiration just walking out of my house. I live on the outskirts of a mountain and it's easy to immerse yourself in the beauty of this area. When Klem gave me the idea of the owl, he just told me to "run with it." That gave me a lot of room to work with and I just dove into the work. After doing some research I started working on the graphics and came up with the artwork for this board. It was a fun process and I'm really happy with the result. If anyone is familiar with my work, it can get pretty dark, garish and downright gruesome. The owl takes a pretty different approach. I appreciate the beauty and movement of this bird. I really like the simplicity of the color palette as well. It made me think about the fact that I live in and absolutely love the Pacific Northwest.

VS: Do the graphics have some special significance for you? What do you like most about them?

SD: Every piece of work I create has a special meaning to me. When I do the graphics for a board, the best thing about it is knowing that that piece of work is going to go on an adventure with someone, somewhere really special. That same train of thought applies to this owl. When I'm working on another peice of artwork or doodling in a sketchbook, he'll be spreading his wings on some mountain with someone who really loves being in his or her own element. I feel like that ties me to that moment in a way. It's a pretty cool feeling. And as an artist, it makes you even prouder of the work you created. Someone relates to it as much as you do and is willing to take it with them on his/her own adventure.

VS: Tell us a little about your background as an artist. What's your favorite part of the creative process?

SD: I have been drawing since I was old enough to hold a pencil. My father was the biggest influence in my pursuing a career as an artist. I think that if he were alive today, he'd be very proud. As for my creative process, it's pretty all over the map. I get ideas from co-workers, family and friends. Or I'll be drinking coffee and will get a random thought. My favorite part is getting to the final product. It's amazing to see an initial idea evolve into a body of work. A lot like a science experiment with ink and paper.

VS: What are your thoughts on Venture Snowboards' Shape Shack?

SD: I think the Shape Shack is great. Life is about changing and snowboarding is one of those sports that takes things to the next level. Experimenting with shape, artwork and more keeps things interesting and the movement flowing within this industry. I see great things coming out of the Shape Shack and I'm excited to see what Venture has in store for the future.